December 1942
Situation on the eastern front
The German defence of Stalino was defeated after several days of battle, after the loss of a disorganised and demoralised Romanian division. The
Wehrmacht has managed to create a defence behind the Dnieper after Melitopol had been lost to Soviet forces, with high casualties suffered particularly by Hungarian and Romanian forces.
The German bombing of Leningrad continued with success, with the
Luftwaffe organising sporadic attacks in order to avoid the Red Air Force, with some success and some failure too.
Air war in the east
The presence of the
Luftwaffe and the Hungarian air force had a great effect on morale as Axis troops could just about see the Focke-Wulf 190s and Messerschmitt 109s alongside the mist and snow that was prevalent all across the front.
Air war in the west
The German air force decided to focus its defence on western Germany, except Aachen as US fighter squadrons could reach there. Many Allied bombing attempts were defeated by the
Luftwaffe. However, German industry had taken significant damage over the month, with an estimated 20IC being lost due to Allied bombing. The US air force was really intensifying its strategic bombing campaign.
The Italian airforce thankfully has been helping Germany fight for the skies.
Luxembourg's infrastructure had been reduced by 50% and Metz's by 120% due to Allied bombing, but that has not deterred German industrialists from improving the resource rich territory, in the hope the
Luftwaffe will regain control of the skies in the months to come.
A surprisingly successful attack on Germany's supply line to Norway alerted the German air force, which was able to prevent another such attack. The
Kriegsmarine managed to respond in kind by sinking US and British convoys off the west African coast.
German industry has been increasingly stretched, coping with demands for improvement in infrastructure, military production, reinforcing and upgrading units, now had to accommodate another serial of interceptors. A couple of months ago the German leadership forced the
Heer to de-motorise most of the army in order to free up more oil for converting to rare materials.